Sega Admits Aliens Trailers Weren’t Indicative of Final Product

Sega's European branch came under scrutiny from the U.K.'s Advertising Standards Agency for the Aliens: Colonial Marines marketing, and has acknowledged the trailer did not "accurately reflect" the retail release.

A complaint with the ASA was filed by Reddit user SubparDave (spotted by OXM UK), and he posted the agency's response to the site. "We contacted Sega Europe to discuss this issue," the ASA said in its statement. "They explained that their online trailers used demo footage, created using the in-game engine. Sega Europe understood the objections raised about the quality of the game in relation to the trailers, but explained that they weren't aware of these issues when the trailers were produced, in some cases several months before release."

Though the publisher to try to explain why there was such a monumental difference between pre-release footage and the final game, Sega Europe did concede the end result did not live up to the early promotional material. "Sega Europe acknowledged your objection that the trailers did not accurately reflect the final content of the game," the ASA's statement continued. "They agreed to add a disclaimer, both on their website and in all relevant YouTube videos, which explains that the trailers depict footage of the demo versions of the game. The disclaimer will be visible when each online trailer is played."

While it's certainly not a landmark victory for players around the world, that Sega willingly admits there was something wrong is a good first step in accountability. Aliens: Colonial Marines has been buried under a mountain of conspiracy, rumor, and disappointment since its release. Whether or not the truth about the game's troubled development will ever surface remains to be seen.